Today's Family & Kids Activities in Fairfield-Nov 28

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Daily activities for kids and the family are abound in Fairfield County! Whether you want to spend the day with your children at a zoo, a museum, or just outdoors, we've got it all here. Want to see what's going on next weekend or when you have those few days off? Check out the NY Metro Parents' calendar!

The legal and financial planning for the future of a child with special needs can be daunting for families just trying to master everyday challenges. How can you ensure that your child will have a financially secure life when you are no longer able to be the primary caregiver? Attorney Greta Solomon, principal and chair of Trusts & Estates, Elder Law and Tax Groups, Cohen and Wolf, and Stephen A. Ehrens, CPA, CLTC, and Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual, have extensive experience advising special needs families with the unique challenges they face. They will share what you need to know to create your child's life care plan. Parents, grandparents, and caregivers will learn about: utilizing Special Needs Trusts to make informed decisions, how to compose a letter of intent, powers of attorney, guardianships, financial solutions to meet their family goals and expectations and tax guidelines for special needs families.

Mankind's universal and elusive quest for peace is the inspiration for artist Marlene Siff in this exhibition displaying 47 recent paintings, works on paper, sculpture, mobiles and maquettes of large multi-dimensional constructions, and features works that range from vivid explosions of color to subtle white meditative paintings.

What began with a dozen trees at the Governor’s Mansion has flourished into a nine-day display of over 100 decorated trees, wreaths and holiday baskets lining the halls of the Maritime Center in New Haven. Trees ranging from 4 to 8 feet in height are donated and decorated in themes and often in memory of loved ones. The event is free to the public and there will be a raffle with tickets priced at $1.December 9th the silent auction will end at 1pm and the raffle will be drawn at 2pm. Revenue generated from Trees of Hope directly benefits The Ronald McDonald House which shelters families with children seeking treatment for life-threatening illnesses.

Families can visit Santa's live reindeer and have their photo taken with Santa at his workshop. Hours for the Photos with Santa are: Monday-Friday 12-5:30pm; Saturday 9am-5:30 pm; Sunday 9am-4pm. Reindeer feedings will take place daily, 9am-4pm. Reindeer facts and educational information about reindeer will also be available.

Unique holiday gifts, decorations and collectibles by some of Fairfield County's finest artists and craftspeople will be featured in this fundraiser that supports year-round education and other community programs at the Rowayton Arts Center.

Children are invited to spend unhurried hours exploring the
natural world in a fun and safe environment. The outdoor classroom includes areas for art, music and movement, climbing and crawling, building, and playing. Additionally, the Bartlett features the best of what Connecticut's native landscape has to offer including wetlands and boardwalks, woodland walking trails, varied wildlife, and native habitats. February 6-December 31, 2012.

The museum is now partially reopened two days a week while reparations are made on the museum which was hit by a tornado in 2010. A unique exhibition, Recovery in Action, will be presented on Thursdays and Fridays in the People's United Bank Gallery. Visitors gain insight into the complexities of a disaster recovery in a museum setting. The museum's collection of unique artifacts, including Tom Thumb's miniature carriages and P.T. Barnum's ornate furniture, will be among the many items on view.

Learn about the importance of habitat preservation and conservation while observing such exotic African species as the air-breathing lungfish and electric catfish that use bioelectric radar to sense surroundings and zap their food.

This exhibit is an introduction to Native Americans living in New England today. By visiting five different communities from northern to southern New England, visitors learn about Native American traditions and how modern families balance contemporary life with preservation of important cultural identities through stories and songs.

Poet Robert Frost wrote original poetry for his holiday greeting cards. Many were illustrated by prominent artists, mostly working with woodblock prints. The cards were then printed by the Spiral Press, founded in 1926 by Joseph Blumenthal. These cards are on display thanks to Elinor Wilber, Robert Frost's granddaughter, who has loaned them to the Pequot Library for this exhibit.

In 100 books, Jerry Pinkney has turned his artist's eye and hand to the story - a classic, a folktale, a fable - and readers all over the world saw something new, something they wanted to read and to remember. Pinkney is the master of the American picture book. More than 120 watercolor illustrations by the artist, who lives in Westchester, will be on view in the first major overview of his career as a designer and illustrator in "Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney." The exhibition follows his 2010 award of the Randolph Caldecott Medal for "The Lion and the Mouse." The Hudson River Museum is the only New York showing for this exhibition on national tour, organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Pinkney has found it interesting to trace how the chapters of his life have knitted themselves into his art, touching on the cultural themes of the African-American experience. He uncovers, again and again, the energy in a small moment that surprisingly can change a life or turn an event in history. Most recently in his almost wordless adaptation of the Aesop fable, "The Lion and The Mouse," two creatures on a faraway African plain choose not the hard chase and bloody battle but, instead, exchange kindnesses. Fascinated with wildlife, Pinkney, in many books including "The Brer Rabbit" in "The Last Tales of Uncle Remus" shows us the human qualities of an animal as he shows us the animal in its natural setting. Pinkney, Philadelphia born and bred, and now a long-time New Yorker, has illustrated children's books since 1964, but it was not an easy path. Blacks were not expected to be able to forge careers in the art field. Trained as a commercial artist at a vocational school, he persisted and won a scholarship to the Philadelphia College of Art where his work took on the shading and detail for which he is now renowned, and he where he began to use color to convey mood and emotion. He has most often worked on children's books that celebrate multiculturalism and African-American heritage, as he took on the task of reshaping the perceptions of the stereotypes of blacks. He designed the first nine stamps of the US Postal Service's Black Heritage series. Art critics will look at the color of Pinkney's illustrations, the scarlet curve of Little Red Riding Hood's cloak, the golden blade of grass on the Serengeti plane. Sociologists will look at Pinkney the little boy, who without a visit to a museum or an art class, drew at home on the back of wallpaper samples. What the viewer will see though, in "The Art of Jerry Pinkney" is his wish: "It has always been my intent for my work to continue to breathe after publication. My hope is that (museum visitors) will believe that Jerry Pinkney cares deeply for people, making art, and visual storytelling." The exhibition includes a 96-page illustrated catalog that provides new scholarship into Pinkney's work in essays by the exhibition's co-curator Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, Dr. Gerald L. Early, and others. On view through January 13, 2013.

Marvel at the charming model trains and New York City landmark replicas, stroll the spectacular grounds, and decorate (and eat!) gingersnaps.
Within the enchanting setting of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, model trains zip over bridges and past replicas of New York landmarks made of plant parts such as nuts, bark, and leaves. Show favorites include the original Yankee Stadium, Statue of Liberty, and Brooklyn Bridge. The Artist's Studio provides an insider's look at how the replicas are constructed as you get up close to G-gauge trains.

Explore an underwater universe inhabited by such creatures as Liopleurodon and long-necked Elasmosaurss, enormous animals that were ruling the seas before dinosaurs conquered the earth. Encounter the gigantic Shonisaurus, the T-Rex of the sea. Through January 17, 2013.

The changing climate of the earth has effected people and animals that call the Artic home. See the impact on polar bears, a migrating herd of caribou and walruses. Meryl Streep narrates. Through January 17, 2013.

Academy-Award winner Morgan Freeman lends his voice to this film which follows orphaned baby orangutans and elephants, and the people who rescue and raise them for eventual release back into the wild. Through January 17, 2013.

This unique interactive exhibition looks at the imaginative work of Greenwich, Connecticut-based Blue Sky Studios, a leader in the animation industry for over 20 years. Creator of such blockbuster films as the "Ice Age" series, "Robots," and "Rio," the studio prides itself on technical innovation, while retaining a strong narrative heart. '"Ice Age" to the Digital Age' will guide visitors through Blue Sky's entire process of creating computer-animated films: from initial concepts, storyboards, character design, background art, and three-dimensional modeling, to the highly technical work of animation, rigging, materials, lighting, special effects, and sound. In addition to final movie clips, the exhibition will feature rarely-seen original concept drawings, sculptural models, props, and digital stills. Interactive stations will allow visitors to sketch a scene or manipulate computer-generated images to better understand the innovative technology that brings the films to life. Katonah resident Chris Wedge, a co-founder of Blue Sky in 1987, believes that the secret to the studio's success is in its inventive process. In his view, the art challenges technology and technology inspires the art. The Museum will be turning all the galleries, including the Learning Center, over to this exhibit. There will be gallery talks with Blue Sky co-founder Chris Wedge and "Ice Age: Continental Drift" directors Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier, as well as a calendar of programming in partnership with the Jacob Burns Film Center. Details about these programs are available at katonahmuseum.org. The exhibition will be on view from Sunday, September 16, 2012 through January 20, 2013.

The Maritime Aquarium is decorated for the holidays with 24 hand-crafted lighthouses. Visitors can follow these homemade beacons through the galleries and cast a vote for their favorite. The builder of the lighthouse with the most votes will receive $1,500 at an awards ceremony on Jan. 25.

Bill Probert will be making an encore performance with his All Aboard LEGO train exhibition. He creates visual puns, pastoral scenes with unexpected surprises, and urban scenes where railroad tracks, weeds, carefully-tended gardens, and busy streets blend seamlessly into one another. A special feature in this year's exhibition will be the addition of four creations from winners of the Stamford Museum & Nature Center's All Aboard competition. LEGO enthusiasts in four age categories from five-years-old and up will be submitting entries for inclusion in the exhibition. Through January 27, 2013.

See creative confections, consisting completely of edible materials, from the area?s bakers, chefs and caterers. Returning favorites, along with new competitors, will show off their gingerbread skills. Visitors will be able to vote for their Fan Favorite." Through January 27, 2013.

A first time solo exhibition introducing the art and celebrating the life of Lora Eberly Ballou featuring a collection of over 30 floral arrangements and landscape oil paintings; an assemblage of personal effects; and a historical timeline documenting her 106 year life. September 27-January 31, 2013.

Exhibit and programs commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and its significance over time, featuring Abraham Lincoln's signed copy, rare slavery artifacts, prints, political cartoons and more.

Help a child stay warm and cozy by donating new pajamas and/or a book. Pajama Program is a 501(3)c not-for-profit organization providing new pajamas and books to children many of whom are waiting to be adopted.

Larry Lederman, landscape photographer and member of NYBG's Board of Advisors, has spent years walking the garden grounds to observe and photograph trees and vistas in all seasons and at all times of day. Lush images featuring their diversity and visual impact are on view in the gallery space.
The New York Botanical Garden is home to more than 30,000 trees, some in woodland, some in groves, and some standing in solitary majesty. Magnificent Trees is lavishly illustrated with photographs by Larry Lederman and accompanied by descriptions by Todd A. Forrest, Arthur Ross vice president for horticulture and living collections at the garden. An authority on the diverse species present across the 250-acre landscape, Forrest details their fascinating histories -- from their vital role in Native American life and culture to their function in neutral territory during the Revolutionary War. Lederman captures their grandeur in hundreds of stunning images and portrays their diversity with photographs that reveal the trees in myriad fascinating perspectives: in landscape views that convey the garden's genius loci; portraits illustrating the architecture and profound visual impact of select trees; remarkable details of flowers, fruit, leaves, and bark; and impressionistic images, abstract in character yet beautiful in composition.

This is a program for children and adults with sensory integration dysfunction, autism, and other disabilities with a sensory component. Teachers work on balance and coordination, auditory and tactile sensitivity, strength building, motor coordination, cooperative play, turn-taking, and social and verbal skills.

GUIDES TO OUR REGIONS

Make fishing a family affair this summer: Check out the best spots to fish throughout the New York City area - including in the city, on Long Island, and in the suburbs - and brush up on the local fishing rules and regulations.

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NYMetroParents is the parenting division of Davler Media Group and encompasses 9 regional print magazines within the greater NY metro region as well as the website (nymetroparents.com). Following the success of the first NYC parenting resource book, "Big Apple Baby," BIG APPLE PARENT was launched in 1985; it is now the largest publisher of regional parenting content in the United States.